MI Local Foodbeet is here to help YOU learn how easy it is to eat local in Michigan: recipes, food preservation instructions, store locations, restaurant reviews, and more. Although I occasionally receive unsolicited discounts or samples, the opinions in the blog posts are my own.
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Monday, July 19, 2010

Blueberries and Green Beans Part I

Blueberries and Green Beans Part I

Yesterday I first heard the term “femivore.” And, I thought: “Is that a person who only eats female animals and plants? How can you tell?” Well, it is an odd name for a combination of feminist and locavore – of which I am both. I have always felt that EVERYONE should do what they do best and what they enjoy in and outside of the home. I happen to enjoy food preservation, and if I had a house rather than a condo, I’d want a few chickens hanging around. (This scares my husband.) Google the term and see what you think. There are only 11,400 Google results so far.

It seems that we are destined for a record high temperature summer in Michigan. But, that does not mean that we can’t have blueberry crisp! Because I have a logical aversion to using an oven on a hot day, I developed this recipe for a 2-serving, no-bake blueberry crisp.

Step One: Microwave ¾ - 1 cup of fresh blueberries in EACH of two cereal bowls until they are cooked and some of the juice has boiled down. (About 3 minutes in my microwave.) Watch them carefully so they don’t overflow; you may need to stop and restart a couple of times. Let them cool in the refrigerator. That’s it for the fruit part of the crisp! I learned a few years ago that blueberries naturally have a lot of pectin when a blueberry sauce I made turned into a blueberry glob. So, there is no need to add sugar, pectin, or cornstarch to them.

Step Two: Combine the following and pour on top of the two bowls of blueberries. ½ cup chopped walnuts – toasted in a frying pan½ cup quick oats – toasted in a frying pan (separately from the nuts)2 Tablespoons of Michigan salted butter (I like Mooville.)½ Tablespoon Michigan white sugar (or more to taste)A sprinkle of cinnamon to taste

Step Three: Enjoy with Michigan ice cream. Hudsonville, maybe?

This recipe also works with frozen blueberries. To freeze blueberries for later use in this recipe, pancakes, or muffins etc., place raw, blueberries (make sure that they are not wet) in a single layer on baking sheets in the freezer for several hours. When you freeze them this way, they don’t clump up, and you can grab what you need for the recipe.